[Shikado Nara[2 weeks after Mito's death]
The atmosphere in the Council is much sombre than usual. The death of an S rank shinobi is a solemn affair, to be honest...
Mito sama was one of the reasons why Konoha was optimistic about being a strong contender in the next war. Very few can boast of being able to survive till her age without significant injuries hindering them and even fewer with their fighting prowess intact.
Sandaime sama took her death particularly bad. Of course, nobody blames our Jinchuriki for her death but Sandaime sama was pretty attached to her. The reasons why the Tailed beast extraction was delayed till the last moment are quite a few but the main ones are as follows:
Our resident prodigy Minato was taken under her wing. It was a split-second decision taken by Mito sama but it proved to be very beneficial. Now, Minato is a journeyman in Fuinjutsu- and isn't that an absurd thing- and Mito sama was able to solve the underlying issues in his psyche. Those issues...would have turned him into a missing-nin sooner or later.
Fortunately, Mito sama helped us in that regard. We didn't even have a hint that there was something wrong with the kid before his issues came to light. Shows how many things we all fail to notice in our day to day life however intelligent we make be... Yes, I am bitter over the fact that I couldn't even help my kid's best buddy.
Also, the fact that the lad went under Mito sama's tutelage just months after rejecting the Nara clan's offer prickles at my heart a little. Had Rensuke not been facing problems with his kid 'Fugaku', I am sure that I would have been insulted over this at every turn, especially after I announced Minato's distant Nara heritage.
Back to the point. Lady Mito was one of the only ninjas who could go toe-to-toe with SS class ninjas. Oh, there is no way that she could beat even the weakest SS ranked Ninja but she had the experience to stall one for 2-3 minutes AND escape. That's an absurd thing in itself but that was possible for a ninja of her calibre.
She hadn't survived the warring states era and the first Ninja War without gaining invaluable experience. Experience can't bridge the gap between a genuine SS rank ninja and an upper-end S rank but it can damn well help a ninja. Even now, we are trying to limit the news of her death so that no other village finds out about such a big loss on our part. But that was years ago...
Nowadays, her health had been gradually receding and her threat level has decreased to that of a regular S-class ninja. It was a sad thing for a kunoichi like her but it was true. I am sure, that if this had been another ninja, their threat level would have been reduced to A-class but Lady Mito still maintained her threat level.
I know that because last year, we clan heads fought against Lady Mito to assess her threat level and got a big ass-kicking. The only one to actually injure her was Rensuke. Rest all of us got our asses kicked with all of us only managing to land glancing blows at her.
It's not like A class ninja can't go up against S class ninja but while Lady Mito's skills have deteriorated to an average S rank ninja's level, her experience lets her bypass those restrictions for a few minutes. While that won't work in a prolonged fight-which is what happens in S class fights- it helped her kick all our asses without breaking a sweat.
Other villages have been under the illusion that Mito sama is still the same 'Devilish Flaming Cunt'- Yes, that's her name out of Konoha. During her active years, she was a massive cunt to her opponents and she left behind massive fires through her use of explosive tags everywhere she fought. Period.
Anyways, that illusion was a big reason why no other village had been trying to start for the last 20 or so years. Unfortunately, the war is on the horizon due to the Sandaime Kazekage being an emotional fool and the Nidaime Hokage being an absolute dick.
It's not like I don't understand where he was coming from.The guy was a genius and 80% of our current infrastructure is built upon his ideas but he was an extreme sadist. I don't see any other reason as to why he would have fucked over every village as he did.
The last but not the least reason for the delay was the emotional connection between Hokage sama and Lady Mito. Hokage sama has given this village many things, prolonging the death of his mother figure was the least we could do to repay some of our debt to him.
Hmm? Oh finally... The meeting is starting. I thought that nobody would break the ice.
"...and therefore if Uzushio is attacked, we should cut our losses and not assist them much. Hiren- the current Uzukage- is planning a big expansion. We will be neutral in our behaviour but we shouldn't assist them in any major way. It will be a horrible result for us if the next Uzukage turns their back on us. Hiren is a trustworthy ally but I can't say the same for any future Uzukage."
After saying his piece, Danzo's expression changes back to the stoic mask he always wears. Out of all the people who use a stoic facade to hide their emotions, Danzo manages it the best. I can't even gleam the slightest bit of his emotions when he puts up that mask.
Still, Danzo brings up a good point. We have had good relations with Uzushio since the formation of the village and we can trust Lord Hiren but what about his successors? Till now, Konoha has always had a similar hand if not the upper hand while dealing with the Uzumaki community. That will certainly change when Uzushio conquers the Kiri islands. If they conquer Kumo as well, it will be us who will be on the weaker side of the alliance.
That's something we should avoid as much as we can. Being on the weaker side of an alliance makes you a hostage rather than a party benefiting from the other. Just take the Wind Country's example. Their Sandaime Kazekage is a genius who can mine any kind of magnetic mineral almost infinitely but they are still dependent on Konoha. Why? Because they are still weaker than Konoha and 70% of food consumed by them is produced in Fire Country.
Some idiots have and will provide the brilliant idea of poisoning their supply... Well, I just pray to Kami sama that those shits get a painful death. No one can produce powerful and undetectable poison in quantities where it matters poisoning the supply. If someone tries this, they will be hunted and killed without remorse.
The reason why we are not against Uzushio is that Kushina our Jinchuriki and Lord Hiren's granddaughter. She is essentially a hostage so we can be sure that he will not turn against Konoha as soon as his conquest is over. We are not helping in the hopes that Uzushio will lose at least 3 S ranks.
Lord Third is on the fence about it due to the recent passing of Lady Mito but she has lived far more in Konoha than she lived in Uzushio. She wouldn't have any problems with this plan. Well, that's my observation. We discuss this matter for some but as I expected, more than 90% of us are on the board with this plan.
A war is on the horizon and it is due to get started because of the Iwa shits getting ready to raid Rice Country...again. They are in honest-to-god talks with Kusa for their agriculture. We are not even disrupting that as blocking their food supply for 3-4 years isn't worth another war. I don't know what makes Iwa ninja this retarded and I have long since given up on finding the cause of this bullshit.
Like come on, they want us to believe that Konoha has been actively sabotaging their diplomatic talks with Kusa? I am more inclined to believe that the upper management of Iwa has already formed diplomatic ties with Kusa and has been actively using propaganda to incite the common shinobi to start a war with Konoha now that they have restored themselves to their former power.
Even our spy unit 'Root' has provided us with similar reports. I don't like the idea of using enemy ninjas bound by cursed seals as scouts and spies but the method is practical so I can't bring forward any objection without having a better alternative.
Still, the ninjas who are inducted into root are one of the two types: desperate ninjas with nothing to lose or evil ninjas. Granted, our definition of evil is pretty different from that of civilians but that doesn't change the fact that half the ninjas in root deserve that kind of treatment.
The Third Kazekage is being a grudge-filled idiot. Konoha is the only village with whom they can trade. The Valley Country and the River Country barely manage to produce food enough for their consumption due to the excessive rain let alone for Suna. Kusa is in relations with Iwa and they can't risk Iwa redirecting its hatred towards Suna. Their only option for additional food supply is Rice Country which is under Fire Country's banner unofficially. The only reason why we allow their 'missing nins' in Rice Country is to mollify them. If the Third Kazekage actually declares a war against us, each and every missing nin of Suna in the Rice Country will be exterminated.
There are some rumours of that floating island giving sanctuary to missing nins researching making artificial tailed beasts but we all know that even if that's true, there is no way they can actually accomplish that. Tailed beasts are things of nightnmares. They are equivalent to S rank ninjas at their worst and Madara/Hashirama level at best. That is a frankly scary thought. We can heave a sigh of relief over the fact that such research is bound to fail.
Hanzo is close to completing his conquest of Ame. Normally, no village would have bothered a SS rank shinobi like him but Ame is between all three of us great villages. Our intelligence department and the spy department have come up with the report that Hanzo aims to attack Fire Country next and in doing so, he will inadvertently aid Iwa. Hanzo has been neutral till now but we are reasonably sure that his conquest will continue in Fire Country as well.
We will have to take the initiative and attack Hanzo sometime next year before he unifies Ame and turns his forces against Fire Country. The next war is sure to be a clusterfuck and by everyone's expressions, after I finished all these reports, it looks like they realise this too. At least the war-related reports are over...Tch! Troublesome.
"...and therefore the team combinations for this year's batch will be
Team 7- Minato Namikaze in the apprenticeship of Jiraiya.
Team 8- Hyuga Hiashi, Choza Akimichi and Shikaku Nara under the care of Jonin Kagushi Hyuga
Team 9- Kushina Uzumaki, Mikoto Uchiha and Inoichi Yamanaka under the tutelage of Jonin Hirano Inuzuka
Do any of you have any objections regarding this?"
As soon as Lord Third stopped speaking, the hall devolved into a cacophony of noises.
"Silence! Please present your questions one by one. Yes, young Rensuke..."
Rensuke has a...troubled expression? I haven't seen that expression on his face before. He stands up and tells the council what's going on in his mind.
"Lord Third, I understand that the Yamanaka heir would be a good teammate for Mikoto and vice versa due to the Yamanaka penchant for Genjutsu and Mikoto's...focus on ninjutsu.
Still, I can't seem to understand why our Jinchuriki is on the same team as well. Kushina-san is a Senju vassal and while I won't...accuse her of any treachery due to her age, surely you would understand that their presence on the same team will create unrest."
Ah... So that's the matter. Rensuke has been having trouble getting the Uchiha clan under his control. He has definitely succeeded in his endeavour but his control over the clan is still fragile. He is afraid of that control slipping due to the unrest created by this news. Lord Third takes on a pensive expression and for a moment, I think that Rensuke's unspoken request is answered. Sadly, reality comes crashing down in a moment.
"While I understand your concerns Rensuke, I am afraid that the team will remain the same. The reason for that is... young Minato. If Minato hadn't displayed enough talent to be under the direct apprenticeship of Jiraiya, his teammates would have been Mikoto and Shikaku.
Their team would have been a heavy-hitting team with Minato's monstrous talent, Mikoto's ninjutsu and taijutsu prowess and Shikaku's tactical mind and frankly absurd motivation for a Nara."
Rensuke is shocked by that- he doesn't show it but I have been his friend for years-and frankly even I am pleasantly shocked by that news. To see your son's prodigious progress is uplifting on its own but to hear your Kage praise your son is something else.
It also reminds me to stop even the thought of comparing Shikaku to Minato. Shikaku on his own is a genius any family would be happy to have, to compare him to the monster that is 'Minato Namikaze' is an exercise in futility. That kid is very troublesome!
Still, hearing others discuss my son in an awed tone does bring me pride.
"But alas, that combination wouldn't be possible without destroying their teamwork due to the growth difference between Minato and the other two.
Kushina is paired with Mikoto due to her being the best Taiijustu expert in her generation only contested by the Hyuga heir-of course we don't compare her to Minato as that would be foolish- and her expertise in Fuinjutsu. While not having a freakish growth rate like Minato, Kushina is still expected to reach the Journeyman stage in a maximum of a year from now if given proper guidance. Her talent in Fuinjutsu is the highest seen in Konoha to date. Team 9 is geared towards being a heavy-hitting team with proper genjutsu resistance.
I expect any political unrest caused in either the Senju or Uchiha clan to not affect this team's performance. Is that clear Rensuke, young Kitohana?"
Kitohana's face is set in a barely visible grimace. He clearly doesn't want to deal with the political fallout in the Senju clan but still says "Yes, Hokage Sama." as it is a clear-cut order from the Hokage.
Similar to Kitohana, Rensuke isn't happy with the result but is satisfied with the reasoning I suppose.
The Senju clan doesn't even have proper authority over Kushina so they can't even disrupt her. From what I got from Shikaku, she is planning to move into Minato's apartment due to the absence of a caretaker. Minato is responsible enough that he can manage Kushina and he was the one closest to Lady Mito so I can guess that she told him to take care of Kushina.
Some girls tried to get on Kushina's case over 'stealing their prince'- I hate hormones- but it was made clear repeatedly by Minato and Kushina that their relationship is platonic and will continue to be so. The thoughts of an actual relationship at their age are absurd. Of course, when the girls continued to harass Kushina, she pummeled them to the ground. I consider it their fault.
The last time I talked to Minato, he found the idea of a relationship very disturbing. Though I don't exactly know why, I can guess his reasons. For him, it must be foolish to contemplate a relationship before having become powerful enough to sustain it.
I am familiar with his thought process. He tries to emulate adults but fails in some areas. Still, I did not offer him the position of our vassal lightly. He has enough intelligence to ponder over sexual matters as he grows.
The rest of the conference continued with small talks which I didn't pay much attention to. I just want to go home and sleep after this. What a drag...
Still, I have to thank the troublesome kid for motivating Shikaku this much. This sense of motivation will serve him good in the upcoming war. After all, had I been that motivated, we wouldn't have lost Tatsuya in the previous war...
A/N: So this chapter is dedicated to cover the reasons for a number of things. You all can ask me why I set up the teams like I did in the comments if you all want to know. I didn't elaborate on that as I felt that a character like Shikado won't really concern himself over that shit other than the bare minimal.
Hope you enjoy the chapter. If you spot any bullshit plotholes, point them out. I will patch them up.
This is the discord link in case any of you want to join my server: discord. gg /72vandfbmG
Goodbye and stay tuned for the next chapter.
